Beyond the Footsie: Fri close

Profit warnings may have dominated the London small cap market this week, but they hadn't lost their capacity to surprise. Shareholders in Sopheon and Global Group joined the ranks of investors caught out by grim trading news - and eager to punish the offender.

Shares in AIM-listed Sopheon plunged 65p, or 26%, to 187 1/2p after the software company warned that sales and profits would be hurt by the group's reorganisation. 'We do not expect growth to meet market expectations for 2000,' it said. 'Operating losses for the year will be higher than in the past.'

Global Group, Britain's biggest supplier of meat and pastry products to the food industry, said its results for the year to 31 December also would fall short of market expectations. The company blamed the recent fuel crisis, bad weather and competitive pressures for 'turbulent' trading conditions. The turbulence continued as investors sold the stock down to 16 1/2p, off 2 1/2p or 13%.

Investors in cooker maker Stoves Group had reason to smile, after the company said it has accepted an offer from privately owned Glen Dimplex worth nearly £12m. The deal was pitched at 45p, a 27% premium to Stoves' closing price on Thursday although still 6 1/2p shy of the group's year high. The shares ended 24%, or 8 1/2p, better at 44p.

Takeover hopes buoyed Alfred McAlpine 12p to 224p. The housebuilder said a third party had pitched an offer of 235p a share, which it had rejected as 'materially' undervaluing the business. Last year it rejected an offer from property entrepreneur Andrew Goodall worth 260p a share.

RPC, the plastics packaging firm, ran the gamut, at one stage plummeting to a 5-year low of 112p as investors digested a sharp slide in first-half profits. The group blamed sharp hikes in polymer prices due to the higher oil price. RPC tried to pass the costs on to buyers, with limited success. It promised a blanket price rise from January. The stock edged forward 1p to 132p.

Software programmer Formscan, which plunged on Wednesday following a profit warning, fell another 15%, or 3p, to 17 1/2p after it released final results which showed an operating loss of £2m.

The rout continued at Pharmagene. The biotechnology firm said earlier this week it would not see any revenue gains until next year from the customers it recruited in 2000 - a warning that cut its share price nearly in half. The stock shed another 9p to 109p.